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mipa_jt's review against another edition
3.0
Things Fall Apart 4 Stars
No Longer at Ease 3 Stars
Arrow of God 2 stars
average of the trilogy, 3 stars
No Longer at Ease 3 Stars
Arrow of God 2 stars
average of the trilogy, 3 stars
tien's review against another edition
4.0
This trilogy is told from different perspective and in slight different time settings though all three dealt with the struggle of the African tribal cultures and the coming of white men. In the first book, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo had risen above and beyond his father’s reputation. He became a Strong man and yet in the end, was helpless in his fight for the old ways. The second book, No Longer At East, Okonkwo’s grandson was brought up in a Christian home and was sent to learn the ways of white men. Despite his education, he still managed to disappoint his family and villagers and tumbled from grace. The last book, Arrow of God, was told from the perspective of a Chief Priest in a separate village and yet even he fell in the end.
This may be the first time ever I read of a book so deeply entrenched in African tribal culture. Some of the things sound ridiculous to me but I would’ve felt the same about Chinese superstitions too. I did feel terribly affected when white men seem to have forced themselves upon the Africans. While there were probably some good men with good intentions, most weren’t that well-behaved in a land they thought inferior. This book, however, showed that even though they sounded rather primitive, all these meetings they had was rather democratic! I have truly learnt many things from these books.
This may be the first time ever I read of a book so deeply entrenched in African tribal culture. Some of the things sound ridiculous to me but I would’ve felt the same about Chinese superstitions too. I did feel terribly affected when white men seem to have forced themselves upon the Africans. While there were probably some good men with good intentions, most weren’t that well-behaved in a land they thought inferior. This book, however, showed that even though they sounded rather primitive, all these meetings they had was rather democratic! I have truly learnt many things from these books.
evetoi's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
evetoi's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
paintedverse's review against another edition
4.0
THINGS FALL APART
I have always had intense admiration for writers who, through their journalistic way of writing, give a lot to think about. Chinua Achebe has taken this admiration to another height. He is easy to read, but difficult to access. He stated things as plainly as he could and leaves the burden of making out the undertones on his readers. To be honest, he leaves a lot on his readers.
Things Fall Apart begins with the protagonist and the reminiscences of his father. Okonkwo is not in awe with his father's way of living and he carves out his own destiny. He is not one of those protagonists who, at first, made a place in my heart. It wasn't until Roshan rightfully pointed out the reason of his actions being that he was the member of a clan that I finally started taking his course of action in.
I had been too carried away in the beginning because I wanted to know if the misogynistic narration of the novel is in anyway related to the author. I try to keep the artist away from his/her work as far as possible. But I had recently read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Introduction to The African Trilogy and what I had been thinking about Joseph Conrad being a racist came back to me yet again. Adichie, recapitulating Achebe's "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness", wrote, "[Conrad] had failed to hold an authorial rejection of that world-view [the racism of the time]".
Throughout the work, I was trying to find if Okonkwo's misogyny has an "authorial rejection" and I am glad that I found, at least that's what I think. It was through Uchendu, Okonkwo's mother's younger brother, that Achebe had pacified the fire of supposed misogyny that was seething in me. He said,
"It's true that a child belongs to his father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his father-land when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say mother is supreme."
Things Fall Apart is an important text. It is not meant just for a light reading, but also for going through its depth and exploring it even in its remotest corner.
NO LONGER AT EASE
How far can one move from her/his place of birth? The journey back home, if undertaken, can it be similar to what it was before? Is the change nominal? Exactly who has changed in the absence - is it the home or is it the person? These are but a few questions that No Longer At Ease (1960) by Chinua Achebe made me ponder upon.
Obi Okonkwo, the grandson of Okonkwo of Achebe's debut novel Things Fall Apart (1958), comes back from England as the first person in his village, Umuofia, to have finished his studies abroad with the 'scholarship'. The expense of Obi's education was borne by Umuofia Progressive Union which was formed by the Umuofians who were abroad "with the aim of collecting money to send some of their brighter young men to study in England". Obi gets a "'European post' in the civil service" and his monthly expenditure, among other things, includes paying back the 'scholarship', sending money home for his family as well as for paying the fees of his brother and the monthly installments of the car he has bought.
In the novel, Obi faces a similar tussle like his grandfather. Torn between the image of his home before he went to England and the merciless reality after homecoming, Obi is no longer at ease. As a person whose father had accepted Christianity and who has returned from England after finishing his studies, he finds disparities with the people around him and is ill at ease with them. The Britishers chide him for everything that the Nigerians do wrong — even if the wrong was first spread by them — and he has his differences with the people of his village. In a world that is breaking apart with the tug of war of independence, just like his grandfather, Obi finds himself alone.
Achebe's journalistic writing continues in this novel and as an omniscient narrator, he portrayed a representation of the conflict. The most striking aspect of the author's language is his sparse, rigid and journalistic writing style. These are the same characteristics that take away the pleasure I find in reading. In a way, it is justifiable. Things are falling apart and one is not expected to find delight in it.
ARROW OF GOD
I submitted and successfully defended my MA dissertation on Wednesday. One of the questions that was asked and that has stayed with me is this - Do you think the British administrators were innocent? I explained how they were not innocent at all. It is only after I have finished reading 'Arrow of God' (1964) by Chinua Achebe that I am realising that the British administrators were not just not innocent because they enforced their rules in a society which has a completely different set of rules: they were not innocent also because they did not wait to figure out if they had any system at all.
'Arrow of God' revolves around Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of six villages of Umuaro. The novel begins, as Adichie writes in her Introduction to 'The African Trilogy', like Greek tragedies. An important event has occurred and as the novel progresses, what follows is a consequence of it. Like 'Things Falll Apart' (1958) and 'No Longer At Ease' (1960), it weaves an African perspective of an African world; if I leave my colonialist insight, it is a representation of Igbo world through Igbo eyes. Igbo practices eluded me at most of the places as I, needless to say, am not familiar with them. This made my reading drab and dull but it also made me realise the different layers that this novel has hidden within itself.
I am not claiming to understand its depth. I am sure that even after numerous re-readings, I will not be able to unravel its complexity. Difficult books are very tricky: they either attract readers or they repel them. This book would have repelled me had I not been persistent. I might be able to talk more about it probably after a re-read, but I think one needs to read Achebe even though one has a million reasons not to.
I have always had intense admiration for writers who, through their journalistic way of writing, give a lot to think about. Chinua Achebe has taken this admiration to another height. He is easy to read, but difficult to access. He stated things as plainly as he could and leaves the burden of making out the undertones on his readers. To be honest, he leaves a lot on his readers.
Things Fall Apart begins with the protagonist and the reminiscences of his father. Okonkwo is not in awe with his father's way of living and he carves out his own destiny. He is not one of those protagonists who, at first, made a place in my heart. It wasn't until Roshan rightfully pointed out the reason of his actions being that he was the member of a clan that I finally started taking his course of action in.
I had been too carried away in the beginning because I wanted to know if the misogynistic narration of the novel is in anyway related to the author. I try to keep the artist away from his/her work as far as possible. But I had recently read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Introduction to The African Trilogy and what I had been thinking about Joseph Conrad being a racist came back to me yet again. Adichie, recapitulating Achebe's "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness", wrote, "[Conrad] had failed to hold an authorial rejection of that world-view [the racism of the time]".
Throughout the work, I was trying to find if Okonkwo's misogyny has an "authorial rejection" and I am glad that I found, at least that's what I think. It was through Uchendu, Okonkwo's mother's younger brother, that Achebe had pacified the fire of supposed misogyny that was seething in me. He said,
"It's true that a child belongs to his father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his father-land when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say mother is supreme."
Things Fall Apart is an important text. It is not meant just for a light reading, but also for going through its depth and exploring it even in its remotest corner.
NO LONGER AT EASE
How far can one move from her/his place of birth? The journey back home, if undertaken, can it be similar to what it was before? Is the change nominal? Exactly who has changed in the absence - is it the home or is it the person? These are but a few questions that No Longer At Ease (1960) by Chinua Achebe made me ponder upon.
Obi Okonkwo, the grandson of Okonkwo of Achebe's debut novel Things Fall Apart (1958), comes back from England as the first person in his village, Umuofia, to have finished his studies abroad with the 'scholarship'. The expense of Obi's education was borne by Umuofia Progressive Union which was formed by the Umuofians who were abroad "with the aim of collecting money to send some of their brighter young men to study in England". Obi gets a "'European post' in the civil service" and his monthly expenditure, among other things, includes paying back the 'scholarship', sending money home for his family as well as for paying the fees of his brother and the monthly installments of the car he has bought.
In the novel, Obi faces a similar tussle like his grandfather. Torn between the image of his home before he went to England and the merciless reality after homecoming, Obi is no longer at ease. As a person whose father had accepted Christianity and who has returned from England after finishing his studies, he finds disparities with the people around him and is ill at ease with them. The Britishers chide him for everything that the Nigerians do wrong — even if the wrong was first spread by them — and he has his differences with the people of his village. In a world that is breaking apart with the tug of war of independence, just like his grandfather, Obi finds himself alone.
Achebe's journalistic writing continues in this novel and as an omniscient narrator, he portrayed a representation of the conflict. The most striking aspect of the author's language is his sparse, rigid and journalistic writing style. These are the same characteristics that take away the pleasure I find in reading. In a way, it is justifiable. Things are falling apart and one is not expected to find delight in it.
ARROW OF GOD
I submitted and successfully defended my MA dissertation on Wednesday. One of the questions that was asked and that has stayed with me is this - Do you think the British administrators were innocent? I explained how they were not innocent at all. It is only after I have finished reading 'Arrow of God' (1964) by Chinua Achebe that I am realising that the British administrators were not just not innocent because they enforced their rules in a society which has a completely different set of rules: they were not innocent also because they did not wait to figure out if they had any system at all.
'Arrow of God' revolves around Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of six villages of Umuaro. The novel begins, as Adichie writes in her Introduction to 'The African Trilogy', like Greek tragedies. An important event has occurred and as the novel progresses, what follows is a consequence of it. Like 'Things Falll Apart' (1958) and 'No Longer At Ease' (1960), it weaves an African perspective of an African world; if I leave my colonialist insight, it is a representation of Igbo world through Igbo eyes. Igbo practices eluded me at most of the places as I, needless to say, am not familiar with them. This made my reading drab and dull but it also made me realise the different layers that this novel has hidden within itself.
I am not claiming to understand its depth. I am sure that even after numerous re-readings, I will not be able to unravel its complexity. Difficult books are very tricky: they either attract readers or they repel them. This book would have repelled me had I not been persistent. I might be able to talk more about it probably after a re-read, but I think one needs to read Achebe even though one has a million reasons not to.
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